ican one must adopt certain standards and follow certain patterns. But
does this mean that each ethnic group must abandon the less tangible
elements of its identity? The authors assume that America will become
some great, homogeneous amalgam, where ethnic background is no more
important than the state one is born in. Does this mean that the subtle
contributions of ethnic diversity in America will vanish? Will American
culture, so indefinable in its heterogeneity, become something as normative
as the Protestant ethic? To have treated the question of language, litera­ture,
art, the theater, custom—all elements of American culture—would
have required a far larger volume. Perhaps it is too much to ask of the
authors. But Dinnerstein and Reimers' America only acts upon the im­migrants,
when in actuality the immigrants also act upon America.
The sections which deal with the Scandinavians are brief and disap­pointing.
With the exception of the Finns, they all belong to the Old
Immigrants. The Norwegians and the Swedes receive only cursory treat­ment,
and one cringes at the clichés used. The Scandinavians followed the
standard pattern. They left their poverty-stricken homelands, came to
America to become farmers and laborers in the Midwest, moved from
the countryside to urban areas, and rose on the social and economic ladders
to middle-class status. The Finns depart slightly from the norm, and here
the authors make two horrible generalizations. First, they argue that the
Finns did not become farmers. What, one must ask, about the New York
Mills area of Minnesota? They then claim that the Finns did not succeed
in business. This assertion ties the two generalizations together. Clearly,
Dinnerstein and Reimers have never visited northern Minnesota and know
nothing of the cooperative movement that stretches across Wisconsin,
and Minnesota.
E t h n i c A m e r i c a n s is a good book, but its limitations should be kept
in mind. Do not expect to find very much that is new or exciting about
the old immigrant groups in America. Do not expect to find much depth
concerning the less tangible aspects of ethnic America. Beware of the
generalizations. On the other hand, the sections which deal with the im­migrant
groups of the twentieth century, American immigration policy,
and the process of assimilation within the context of prejudice and ex­ploitation
are highly valuable. The bibliographical essay is thin, but, again,
one must remember the audience to which the book is directed. E t h n i c
A m e r i c a n s should serve well in the classroom and as an introduction to
immigration for a more general audience.
B Y R O N J . NORDSTROM,
G u s t a v u s A d o l p h u s C o l l e ge
Tell G . Dahllöf. I UTVANDRARNAS S P Å R : E N B O K O M SVERIGE I
AMERIKA. Stockholm: Verbum, 1975. Ill pp.
For Americans who read Swedish this little book can provide an hour
or two's review of many major facts about Swedish emigration to America
and many Swedish-American achievements in this country. While Tell
76
Dahllöf, who knows both Swedes and the United States very well indeed,
does not pretend to cover his subject thoroughly, he has managed to write
a book that is decidedly readable and entertaining even for Americans.
For the public for whom it was primarily designed—vacationing Swedes
getting ready for a holiday over here, the publisher's claim that it is "a
concentrated survey of Sweden-America through the ages" and that it
"presents the most important events in the history of Swedish emigrants
and a series of colorful personalities" is certainly justified. I admit, how­ever,
to feeling some dismay over the fact that the Pacific Northwest and
Alaska are not even mentioned.
There are, moreover, unfortunate errors. For example: Swedish tourists
will quickly discover on examining their maps that the following simply
isn't true: "We feel already well-acquainted with them, as we see the
familiar names on the map, so close together along the Mississippi: Still­water,
Taylor [sic] Falls, Ki-chi-saga, Center City, and Lindstrom."
Two very nice features of this essentially pleasant and informative book
are a selected bibliography of books about America (including one by
Ernst Skarstedt, historian of the Swedes in the Pacific Northwest, and
another about Skarstedt by Emory Lindqvist) and Carl Henrik Martling's
study plan for seven sessions in preparation for an American trip.
W A L T E R JOHNSON
U n i v e r s i t y oj W a s h i n g t on
77

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ican one must adopt certain standards and follow certain patterns. But
does this mean that each ethnic group must abandon the less tangible
elements of its identity? The authors assume that America will become
some great, homogeneous amalgam, where ethnic background is no more
important than the state one is born in. Does this mean that the subtle
contributions of ethnic diversity in America will vanish? Will American
culture, so indefinable in its heterogeneity, become something as normative
as the Protestant ethic? To have treated the question of language, litera­ture,
art, the theater, custom—all elements of American culture—would
have required a far larger volume. Perhaps it is too much to ask of the
authors. But Dinnerstein and Reimers' America only acts upon the im­migrants,
when in actuality the immigrants also act upon America.
The sections which deal with the Scandinavians are brief and disap­pointing.
With the exception of the Finns, they all belong to the Old
Immigrants. The Norwegians and the Swedes receive only cursory treat­ment,
and one cringes at the clichés used. The Scandinavians followed the
standard pattern. They left their poverty-stricken homelands, came to
America to become farmers and laborers in the Midwest, moved from
the countryside to urban areas, and rose on the social and economic ladders
to middle-class status. The Finns depart slightly from the norm, and here
the authors make two horrible generalizations. First, they argue that the
Finns did not become farmers. What, one must ask, about the New York
Mills area of Minnesota? They then claim that the Finns did not succeed
in business. This assertion ties the two generalizations together. Clearly,
Dinnerstein and Reimers have never visited northern Minnesota and know
nothing of the cooperative movement that stretches across Wisconsin,
and Minnesota.
E t h n i c A m e r i c a n s is a good book, but its limitations should be kept
in mind. Do not expect to find very much that is new or exciting about
the old immigrant groups in America. Do not expect to find much depth
concerning the less tangible aspects of ethnic America. Beware of the
generalizations. On the other hand, the sections which deal with the im­migrant
groups of the twentieth century, American immigration policy,
and the process of assimilation within the context of prejudice and ex­ploitation
are highly valuable. The bibliographical essay is thin, but, again,
one must remember the audience to which the book is directed. E t h n i c
A m e r i c a n s should serve well in the classroom and as an introduction to
immigration for a more general audience.
B Y R O N J . NORDSTROM,
G u s t a v u s A d o l p h u s C o l l e ge
Tell G . Dahllöf. I UTVANDRARNAS S P Å R : E N B O K O M SVERIGE I
AMERIKA. Stockholm: Verbum, 1975. Ill pp.
For Americans who read Swedish this little book can provide an hour
or two's review of many major facts about Swedish emigration to America
and many Swedish-American achievements in this country. While Tell
76
Dahllöf, who knows both Swedes and the United States very well indeed,
does not pretend to cover his subject thoroughly, he has managed to write
a book that is decidedly readable and entertaining even for Americans.
For the public for whom it was primarily designed—vacationing Swedes
getting ready for a holiday over here, the publisher's claim that it is "a
concentrated survey of Sweden-America through the ages" and that it
"presents the most important events in the history of Swedish emigrants
and a series of colorful personalities" is certainly justified. I admit, how­ever,
to feeling some dismay over the fact that the Pacific Northwest and
Alaska are not even mentioned.
There are, moreover, unfortunate errors. For example: Swedish tourists
will quickly discover on examining their maps that the following simply
isn't true: "We feel already well-acquainted with them, as we see the
familiar names on the map, so close together along the Mississippi: Still­water,
Taylor [sic] Falls, Ki-chi-saga, Center City, and Lindstrom."
Two very nice features of this essentially pleasant and informative book
are a selected bibliography of books about America (including one by
Ernst Skarstedt, historian of the Swedes in the Pacific Northwest, and
another about Skarstedt by Emory Lindqvist) and Carl Henrik Martling's
study plan for seven sessions in preparation for an American trip.
W A L T E R JOHNSON
U n i v e r s i t y oj W a s h i n g t on
77